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Our day 1 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling itinerary included the opportunity to spend a few hours along
the National Mall in Washington DC. Almost on the doorstep of the
Capitol building is the United States Botanic Garden, a place about which I knew absolutely nothing other that what I gleaned from very brief pre-fling research. I really couldn't recall seeing photo spreads in garden magazines, blog posts or hearing accounts from garden touring friends who may have visited prior to me, including those who live quite nearby.

The US Botanic Garden has been at its current location since 1933, but there has been a public garden presence of some sort on the Mall since 1820. Not surprisingly Thomas Jefferson had a hand in it's establishment, along with a couple of other historical figures you may have heard of, Mr. G.Washington and Mr. J. Madison.
Unfortunately, it was a particularly hot and sticky day for our visit and my documentation was not as thorough as I would have like…

I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to visit some of our great public horticultural institutions across the US, but it's a particular pleasure to be welcomed into a memorable home garden created by a gifted gardener. During our brief 2 day sojourn into Pennsylvania prior to Garden Bloggers Fling, my friends and I were fortunate to visit the garden of artist Inta Kromboltz, who fashioned it and nurtured it for over 30 years. The gardens of an artist always seem to have a little extra something, perhaps because their creative eye sees things the rest of us do not.
Intas' garden is a textbook study in the use of foliage, texture and layering . Flowers were completely incidental, and justifiably so. The garden is rich in color, flowers or not.

Brick homes are exotic to this left coast dweller. Earthquakes and brick homes don't mix well. I was immediately smitten.

July is the month that hails the beginning of the slippery slope to the summer doldrums in my garden. Nevertheless, there isn't much that's not in bloom. As always a tip of the garden hat to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens who hosts Bloomday for garden bloggers worldwide on the 15th of every month.

The grasses are blooming this month, and this is Panicum 'Heavy Metal' which I planted last year and am delighted with it's vertical non-floppy profile and the cloud of backlit blooms in the evening.

Another favorite of my grasses , Chasmanthium latifolium.

Just about time to cut this Eryngium back, but I have gotten alot of mileage from this plant as the blooms started early and kept appearing over many months.

Sanguisorba 'Chocolate Tips'

Phlox paniculata is peaking now. First up is my completely reverted 'Nora Leigh' and 'David' below. I don't seem to experience the mildew issue that plagues other gardens; I speculate our dry summer c…